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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Sunflower Wreath Hints: Part I, Yarn

With the Sunflower Wreath coming out in Inspired Crochet, I thought I would put a few posts up to welcome those who are making the wreath. A few helpful side notes for the project, if you will.

The first photo in the pattern used Berroco Vintage for the wreath and Dream in Color Classy for the other portions. This one (featured later in the pattern) is all Knit Picks yarns, mostly Wool of the Andes Worsted. As I started to think of other yarn options that people could use, I wanted to consider various price points and blends.

These are three yarn options for the sunflower petal portion. You can go with an orange range or a yellow one. Both are great, so it is really a personal preference. On the higher-priced side you have Dream in Color Classy Gold Experience (on the left of this photo). Although a little more expensive, it is one of my favorite yarns and one skein will get you around 8 sunflowers. So, you could make a wreath and then use your leftovers to make 3 sunflower hats! (Brownie Knits offers the Flowers of Fall pattern on our Etsy, Ravelry, and Craftsy sites that includes a knitted hat and a crocheted sunflower and mum.)

The middle orange yarn is Fleece Artist River in Pumpkin. When I saw the colorway, I had to order a skein to make up some wreaths for sell on our Etsy store. The beautiful deep oranges and lighter areas are really beautiful and are true to the nature of living flowers.

My favorite yellow to use in Berroco Vintage in Sunny. This is a fantastic work horse yarn that is reasonably priced. I LOVE it for baby/child items and household decor. It washes so well and the stitch definition is great in knit and crochet.

For the wreath yarn, I have made them with Vintage and Dream in Color. I am, admittedly, a yarn snob. If I can afford the good stuff, that is what I like to use. BUT, I also like to hang on to our money! So, if I see that other crafters are really into a lower-priced yarn, I'll give it a go. For years, I've watched I Love This Yarn by Hobby Lobby show up on yarn polls. I picked up a skein of it to make a wreath. I tend to judge yarn on three main things: feel during working, finished look, performance in made garment. For this project, I wasn't so concerned about the performance of the yarn given that it is a decor piece that doesn't get washed or worn. The yarn is super soft and came in the color I needed. It crocheted up nicely and has a good crocheted stitch definition. Overall, a great working yarn for decor pieces. I probably will not use it for knitting, though. And, being acrylic, I would personally avoid it for blankets/sweaters/etc. But, for decoration, what a great buy!

Hope these yarn options have given you some ideas and options for selecting materials for your Sunflower Wreath!